I’m old as dirt. My first two race bikes employed toe clips and toe straps and that set-up was bad. For many reasons it was bad and any retro-hipster who thinks otherwise is wrong. When Lemond and Hinault started racing on the white Look clipless pedals, everyone but Sean Kelly quickly switched. Talk about a quantum improvement, it was long overdue change. Look made improvements to their models, like the notion of float, and other manufactures jumped in. The new paradigm was a cleat on the pedal, like the original quill pedal system but with a spring loaded snap-in, twist-out pedal. Everyone was happy.
Everyone is happy until you have to replace a worn out plastic cleat. Did I walk a lot in my cycling shoes? Did all liquor stores have rough cement floors with giant moving sanding belts in front of the cash registers? I don’t remember that but I do remember replacing cleats too often and the duplication of cleat position was tedious. I could live with that, practice makes perfect but it was the creaking that drove me to madness. No amount of wax could stop the occasional creaking the cleat and pedals would make while climbing. Rule #65 was being violated before it was a Rule.
Wiser friends had already switched to Speedplay pedals. I was a little wary; they looked weird. One day into using them I understood: total frictionless float, two-sided entry, mindless pedal release. There is no cleat alignment issue as the pedal has no fixed position in the cleat. I was overcome with regret. Why had I waited so long? Why did I stick with creaking Look French pedals? Life is too short for such rubbish and I wasted too much of my cycling life with them. I’ve been using the X-series stainless steel pedals and the original pair was happily going on eighteen-plus years until I replaced the pedal needle bearings and bodies…I don’t want to talk about it. If you employ the good aftermarket cleat covers, and use a little white lightning teflon on the cleat spring bales, the cleats can last a few years. The pedal bodies have grease injector ports. Inject, wipe clean and that is the maintenance routine, easy and fun.
I’ve never used another model of Speedplay so I can’t speak to the advantage of limited float. When riding my right foot does a weird swing out toward the bottom of each stroke. To my mind that is a good thing, the float allows my leg to do that, without that maybe some extra knee wear would occur.
Frank and I have discussed the great pedal switch and his major obstacle to switching pedals is having to switch the whole n+1 stable over and that is not cheap. For Frank and VHM that stable may be five bikes. That’s a lot of pedals. Inertia. Commitment. It’s a big problem. Or one takes Marko’s approach: different shoes for each bike.
I have brand loyalties but if another cycling product is superior in form and function I hope I will see that and move on. Campagnolo gruppos and Chris King headsets are two brands on my bikes that I don’t see moving away from but I would ditch either of those before I would stop using Speedplay pedals. I’m that convinced.
This film is from Peloton’s website. It’s an interesting look at some American cycling manufacturing including Speedplay.
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Team America is worth breaking your TV ban for. On the reverance stuff, for me, the clue is in the name. Reverance. Not only are they great articles, but the comments just add to the whole thing. I have just bought bottom of the range Shimano clip ins, so while speedplays may be better, I haven't been influenced by the article, just enjoyed reading it.
@RedRanger
Do not worry. I just smoothed everything out with one heartfelt post.
@Steampunk
Dear Sirs,
xyxax has entered the witless protection program and will not be available for further comment.
@Buck Rogers
I blame Minion.
I blame the parents.
@Steampunk
Nicely put. I agree with this, and I also agree various people around here do get into this from time to time, and that some are more prone to it than others, and that it does seem to be happening more.
I know how hard it can be to let go and I wish I was better at it than I am, and I wish the community was better at it than we are. That said, on balance its funny around here and since Chris and Marcus have been called out, specifically, I'll say that they're not the only ones and while they both do tend to get into it, they also consistently contribute positively and have done so for a long time. I appreciate their contributions, their input and they both make me laugh, so in the end that's good enough for me, even if the personal attacks definitely are not appreciated (they've been made on me, too).
I think a big part of it is that you can't hear tone and you can't see the mischievous glint in someone's eye on the internet. The intent is not always how it comes across. Everyone on the internet is at least two shades more of an asshole than they are in real life, and every single person I've met from the community has been a class act. Cheers to that, that's amazing.
But a massive +1 on the message that everyone should try harder to keep things light, razz the hell out of each other, be open and, above all, fucking funny.
@frank
One of the reasons I've been taught that if you want to say something on the internet, make sure it's clear and concise. People don't always catch the smilies or hear the tone in your voice.
I believe Rule 43 applies here. =)
I, for one, am grateful this site exists. I've enjoyed reading the banter here and I've learned quite a bit about cycling in general from y'all. Thanks, Frank, for making this possible. =]
@Steampunk
Couldn't resist changing "learn, laugh, and engage" to "learn, laugh, and enrage!"
@frank
That response perfectly illustrated the kind of man Frank is. He's a man who knows that when you put another man's cock in your mouth, you make a pact. A bond that cannot be broken. He's a man so dedicated that he will get down on his knees and put that cock right in his mouth.
@Xyverz
+1 Same here.